Holy Cow

More than 85% of India’s population are of Hindu faith, which means, to them, that cows are holy and certainly not to be eaten. ”The cow is like God,” according to many of my Indian hosts. They believe the cow is second in rank only to their birth mother, for when a child is weened from the teat, the cow’s milk will replace hers.

Cows are as much a part of Indian culture as bright colors, extreme poverty and hot marsala chai. They sleep under boardwalks and store awnings and wander freely through the streets, crossing the road at a leisurely pace, fully aware that an Indian-operated car will voluntarily veer off the road or into another object before it will injure the cow.

Their life might not sound like that of a highly revered animal – they feed on trash piles that incessantly line the streets – but they do seem to know their place in the hierarchy of praise in India, and they take it to their full advantage, lounging anywhere they see fit.

About the Photographer

Jessica J. Hill has been traveling around Asia, one classroom at a time. She’s been lucky enough to teach all levels over the last 18 months – from preschool through high school in Thailand, and university in China. She now operates a TEFL certification and job placement agency Teach English ESL. To keep her from running back across the globe herself, she writes about her experiences with teaching English abroad and cultural, immersion and adventure travel on her website, MissAdventureTravel.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+.

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